58 THE RACE-HORSE. 



meut of them. Brutes, like men, demand a pecu- 

 liar mode of treatment, when we require them to 

 do their utmost for us ; and it is certain that this 

 principle holds good in regard to both, namely, 

 that^ in general^ kindness gains its pointy owelty pro- 

 "cokes resistance^ and a proper degree of sererity pro- 

 duces obedience. The panther, in the fable, knew who 

 fed her with bread, and who pelted her with stones ; 

 and we may be assured, that so noble and high- 

 spirited an animal as the horse feels with acuteness 

 sensations of pleasure and pain. 



We often hear it asserted that the British 

 thorough-bred horse has degenerated within the 

 last few years, and is no longer the stout and long- 

 endurino^ animal that he was in the byojone cen- 

 tury, particularly during the last twenty years of 

 it. We are inclined to believe that there is some 

 truth in this. We do not think we have such 

 good four-mile horses, as they are termed, as for- 

 merly, which we consider easily accounted for. 

 They are not wanted, very few four-mile races 

 being now run, even at Newmarket or in the coun- 

 try, and, therefore, a different kind of race-horse is 

 sought for. It may, however, be true, that the 

 inducement to train colts and fillies, at a very early 

 period of their lives, for these short races, has had 

 an injurious effect on their stamina, and, conse- 

 quently, on the stock bred from them. Formerly 

 a horse was wanted for a lifetime, now he is cut up 

 in his youth to answer the purposes of perhaps but 

 one day ; — a system, we admit, quite at variance 

 with the original object of horse-racing, which was 



